Wood shop destroyed by fire

Thursday

Sep 26, 2013 at 12:15 AM

Burr Oak firefighters were called to a fire Wednesday at 30144 Kelly Road in Burr Oak Township.

By Rosalie Currierrcurrier@sturgisjournal.com

Shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday, Burr Oak firefighters were called to a wood shop fire at 30144 Kelly Road in Burr Oak Township.It took them less than five minutes to arrive at the scene, said fire chief Rich Ultz. But flames already had engulfed the shop belonging to Royal Klingler, owner of Burrwood, Ltd.Firefighters from Tri-Township, the second department to arrive, helped extinguish the blaze. From a pond in the neighboring yard, the tankers were able to repeatedly replenish the water supply. The Klingler home and a second shop housing a business that supplies rats and mice to pet stores were saved, Ultz said.Royal and his wife, Cheryl, were home at the time of the fire."I have no idea how it could have started," Royal said. "I'm just glad he wasn't out there," Cheryl said.But together, they watched the woodshop ablaze.As soon as the fire was controlled, Ultz summoned Mark Smith, a local excavator, to remove the metal roof, which needed to be dismantled to reach the flames."That roof was one week old," Ultz said.The 40-by-60-foot shop held woodworking equipment, lumber for future projects and one project in the works. It also housed lawn mowers and "tools like you wouldn't believe," Royal said.He had just completed a kitchen project and had it installed, Cheryl said.Before the fire was completely out, Royal talked about the future."Oh yeah," he said, "I'll rebuild."While it's the firefighter's task to put out the fire, people come first for Ultz."I'm just glad they're OK," Ultz said. "They did everything right. They called us and didn't try to put it out themselves."That's a concern he had, knowing Klingler's love of woodworking."He put his heart into this business," Ultz said.Despite the devastation, Royal kept things in perspective."It's just a building," he said.Ultz said the cause of the fire is under investigation but given the extent of the damage, it may be impossible to determine.